


Devil May Care (Others Definitely Do)

by EdgarAllenPoet



Series: Dads of Marmora [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, KEITH IS RECKLESS, Post Shiro's disappearance, Protective Kolivan, Taking training too seriously, Team as Family, bonding with lions, kind of, somebody save him i s2g
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-18 03:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11282640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdgarAllenPoet/pseuds/EdgarAllenPoet
Summary: "So it was a day just like any other.  They were flying through the void of space, traveling from one distant planet to another, with dobashes of free time in between.  Keith was in the training room after their morning team session, getting his ass handed to him by a very determined Antok."





	Devil May Care (Others Definitely Do)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silverheartlugia2000](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverheartlugia2000/gifts).



At any given time, Lance could be found lounging on the snout of the Blue Lion.  He’d climb his way up there fearlessly with a blanket, a water pouch, and his cellphone (God bless Hunk’s inventiveness and impromptu phone chargers.  They didn’t get any service, but they could take pictures and keep notes on them.  It was a nice familiarity with Earth).  He’d cuddle up happily, easily a dozen stories off the ground.  Keith had joined him once or twice, when he’d sleeplessly found his way to the main hangar and Lance had invited him up. 

 

The first time, Keith had been halfway through the massive room when Lance’s voice called out to him from high above.  Keith had thought he was alone and had been startled so badly he’d grabbed for his bayard, accidentally smacked himself in the head with it, and fumbled it to the floor without even managing to activate it.  Lance had damn near rolled off Blue, he was laughing so hard.

 

Regardless, it was a fond memory.

 

For the most part he left the two alone.  It was a special thing just for Lance.  Keith could respect that.

 

He and Red bonded a bit differently.  Everyone had their different way of bonding with their own lions, which was to be expected.  There wasn’t exactly a ‘how to’ guide for bonding with a colossal sentient robot cat, and since Allura and Coran could only advise them so far, having never been paladins themselves, they were all pretty much on their own.

 

They didn’t talk about it, not really, but it wasn’t a secret either.  Pidge bonded with her lion by tinkering with it.  She was almost obsessive with her updates, dismantling tech and putting it back together, raiding Coran’s storage rooms for spare parts and ideas.  Hunk bonded with his lion by talking to it.  Listening to him, you almost might believe that Yellow was an actual cat, not a robotic god.  

 

Keith wasn’t sure how Shiro bonded with his lion, but he did notice Shiro’s habit of closing his eyes and breathing deeply every once and awhile, emerging with opened eyes a few seconds later, a bit more calm and focused.  If Shiro was actually talking to Black like that, well… if anyone could do it, it was him.

 

Keith talked to his lion too, but not all the time.  When it came down to it, the only time they really bonded was when they flew. 

 

Sure, sometimes Keith would wander into the cockpit and curl up in the pilot’s seat, just to clear his head and be alone for a while.  Red allowed him in, so that had to mean something.  All he had to do was walk up to her and ask nicely, and she’d lower her head to him.  

 

He’d found some spare blankets tucked into a closet near the back of her skull, and more than once he’d dozed off in his seat, curled up comfortably in a nest of blankets, Red purring contentedly beneath him. 

 

Sometimes she purred to him.  It mainly happened during fights, when something worked out the way they both wanted it to.  When they were pushing, saying ‘faster, come on, you can do this, just push a little harder, watch that asteroid, quick, fire!’ and something worked out, he would cheer and she would purr.  Sometimes she purred when he was on the edge of falling asleep, but there was a chance he was imagining that one.  He was always so tired when it happened. 

 

It wasn’t all encouragements when they were flying.  Sometimes he’d steer her into a maneuver that she pushed against with her entire will, to the point that Keith could practically hear a disgruntled voice in his head scolding,  _ ‘Keith Kogane, don’t you dare-’ _ .   He tended not to listen, and it usually turned out okay.  The times it didn’t he’d had to put up with the silent treatment the entire trip back to the castle. 

 

The silent treatment.  From a robotic cat. 

 

This whole outer space thing was really surreal at times. 

 

Keith hadn’t been spending as much time with Red as he used to, ever since the Blade of Marmora had become a constant presence in the Castle of Lions.  That didn’t make sense, when he thought about it.  With more people in the castle, you’d think the need for personal space would increase. 

 

On the contrary, Keith was spending more time with the others.  And okay, it wasn’t like he was anti-social.  Just because he’d spent those months alone in the desert didn’t mean he  _ liked _ it.  Sometimes he needed some peace and quiet, but for the most part, it was nice to have some company. 

 

Besides, the Blade of Marmora were endlessly interesting.  After an entire childhood spent wondering about his heritage and his family, you couldn’t really blame him for being excited about this opportunity.  They didn’t give a lot away- they wouldn’t tell him about his mother, if they even knew her, or about the Galra’s history with Earth, if there even was one, but they told him all sorts of other things.  

 

They helped train him in combat, reinforcing the comment about “fighting like a Galra soldier” by teaching him actual Galra techniques.  There was almost always someone willing to spar with him, or to watch him spar the training bots and give him tips. 

 

They taught him about Galran culture and heritage.   One of the Marmorites, Charnok, had a passion for cooking and would occasionally share classic Galran meals, saying the recipes were from the good days, passed down from their grandfather.   Antok was working on teaching all of the paladins the art of espionage, Galran style, and apparently had both unshakable patience and never ending faith in their ability to learn.  Kolivan was overflowing with war stories and history lessons, and much like Coran, he was more than willing to talk the ear off of anyone who’d sit still long enough.  

 

So the change in company was nice, and Keith liked being busy with it.  Though it seemed the more he spent time with the Blade of Marmora, the less he spent time with Red.  

 

He didn’t think she noticed.  He didn’t think she really cared. 

 

His mind was changed one day when he was sparring with Antok.  The thing about training with the blade of Marmora is that they didn’t take it easy on anyone.  They believed in learning through failure, and it that meant you left every training session with a limp and a mouth full of blood, then so be it. 

 

Considering they could probably straight up slaughter him with minimal effort, Keith wasn’t complaining.  He was getting better, anyways.  He didn’t really have a choice. 

 

They all sparred with the Marmorites, taking advantage of the years of combat experience by subjecting themselves to occasional ass beatings.  Keith trained with them a bit more than everyone else, though.  

 

When they'd all first met, when it was all still new, Lance had said it was because Keith’s a masochist. 

 

Keith wasn’t amused.  “Shut up before I hit you, I swear,” he’d grumbled, sweaty and achy and not in the mood.  

 

Lance had leered at him, waggling his eyebrows and looking Keith dead in the eye.  “Kinky,” he’d said. 

 

“Okay, no,” Shiro had immediately jumped in, apparently also running low on patience that day.  “That is just about enough of that.” 

 

Pidge had murmured, “That’s what she said,” under her breath, and while Shiro didn’t hear her, Hunk had to spend the next few minutes choking on barely concealed laughter.

 

So it was a day just like any other.  They were flying through the void of space, traveling from one distant planet to another, with dobashes of free time in between.  Keith was in the training room after their morning team session, getting his ass handed to him by a very determined Antok. 

 

Antok wasn’t second in command for nothing.  Keith had thought the Trials had been hard, and okay, they still hadn’t been a walk in the park in comparison, but they’d definitely been easier. 

 

Keith got tossed across the room like a rag doll for easily the fifth or sixth time that day, and it was getting increasingly harder to peel himself off the floor and square up again.  Antok seemed to be having the time of his life.  “Again,” he said, humor in his voice.  Keith wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.

 

So Keith got up and fought, but his legs were heavy with exhaustion, and while he may have had half of a Galra genotype, his body was still fundamentally human.  He didn’t have the stamina, or the muscle mass, or the wing span.  When it came down to it, he didn’t have a chance.

 

Antok either didn’t realize that, or he didn’t care, and Keith reminded himself of one of Kolivan’s stories, about how badly new recruits did when they first came to the Blade of Marmora.  About the necessary years of training, and how it was funny to watch the cadets learn. 

 

Keith tried his hardest to push down his frustration and hold onto his dwindling temper.  He was only minutely successful.  The training didn’t get any easier. 

 

One particular kick was a little harder than the others, knocking the wind clean out of him and sending him staggering into a wall.  He fell to his knees, stunned, clutching his side and struggling for breath. 

 

“Again,” Antok said, urging him up.

 

Keith struggled back to his feet on trembling legs and squared up, only to be knocked aside seconds later before he’d even managed to catch his breath.  Antok followed him down, blade drawn and at the ready, leading into some other fighting techniques he’d tried to teach. 

 

But Keith wasn’t fast enough, and he couldn’t breathe.  Antok pressed the blunt of his blade roughly against Keith’s windpipe and pinned him down.  Keith didn’t have the energy to bother struggling. 

 

Red hot frustration stung behind his eyes, and had he not been so busy trying to breathe and not lose his shit, he may have noticed the rumbling.  “I could have killed you,” Antok said, not a threat, but a reminder.  An encouragement to get better.

 

To Keith it just sounded like a reminder of his failure.  

 

And then it didn’t matter, because a growl louder than thunder was roaring around them, shaking the floor and walls and throwing them off balance.  Antok rolled off of Keith, leaping to his feet, blade drawn and ready to defend.  Keith rubbed his throat and struggled to sit up as the floor bucked beneath them.  Antok staggered on his feet. 

 

Right.  Red must have thought it was an actual threat.

“Red!” he shouted, knowing she could hear him without words but not having the mental energy to make that happen.  “Red, I’m okay!  It’s fine!”

 

And she stopped.  The growling subsided.  The shaking ceased.  Antok looked around startled, assessed that the danger had passed, and helped Keith up to his feet.  The others came scrambling into the room, Allura at the forefront, in a frantic investigation.

 

Later, Antok quietly apologized for pushing too hard, and Keith awkwardly excused it.  Appearing weak in front of the Marmorites was not something he wanted to do, but he appreciated Antok not bringing the occurrence to the other’s attention.

 

Except for Kolivan, who said, “You have to train harder.  We cannot afford these risks.”  Red had a few grumbly things to say about that, quietly, in the back of Keith’s head.  Keith just appreciated that she was talking to him more.

 

Red and the Marmorites didn’t always disagree though, and Keith wasn’t sure which was worse sometimes.  He wasn’t sure how he felt about all these aliens feeling the need to take care of him.  First Red, a giant robot, then The Blade, fuzzy purple revolutionaries?  As much as he found irritation with their caretaking individually, the both of them together was much worse.  

 

So maybe it had been a bad idea.  Maybe throwing himself into the vacuum of space, surrounded by exploding enemy ships, battle raging around him, wasn’t the brightest idea he’d ever had.  It was the kind of move that Shiro would have murdered him for, but well… Shiro wasn’t here, and Keith hadn’t had a lot of options. 

 

He’d shouted, “Be ready to catch me,” to Red before throwing the hatch open and diving, hurtling himself towards a cruiser, and creating enough of a distraction for Pidge to sneak in close to the base.  The comm’s had gone wild, everyone shouting and losing their minds.  Red hadn’t been too pleased with him either, but he knew he could trust her to fly on her own and to save him when it was time. 

 

She did it, effortlessly.  He slid back into the pilot’s seat without so much as a scratch on him, helmet just starting to blink about critically low oxygen levels.  He made it out alive, but she was furious.  Keith could feel it radiating through her. 

 

Kolivan was more so. 

 

“What were you thinking!?” he’d demanded the moment Keith set foot off Red.  He’d apparently been waiting.  The rest of the paladins cast them worried looks and quickly high tailed it out of there, either not wanting to witness it or not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.  

 

Red grumbled along conspiratorially.  

 

“That was beyond reckless!  That was stupid!  That was no way for a paladin to act!” he scolded, continuing his rant at full volume while Red growled in support.  Keith waited him out patiently.  If he couldn’t handle people shouting at him, he wouldn’t have made it through half of his foster homes.

 

“What were you thinking!?” Kolivan demanded. 

 

Red grumbled out,  _ ‘We were worried about you. _ ’ 

 

“You could have been killed!” 

 

_ ‘We could have lost you.’ _

 

“Don’t make your team suffer another loss like that.” 

 

_ ‘Missing him is not an excuse for risking your own life.’ _

 

“Do you understand me?” 

 

_ ‘I’m never letting you do that again.’ _

 

“I understand,” Keith answered the both of them.  “I thought the risk was worth it.  I’m sorry.” 

 

Kolivan nodded, once, gruff expression just starting to melt away.  “Allura wants to speak with you,” he said, and Keith suppressed a sigh.  She’d have a thing or two to say, he was sure.  Tomorrow’s paladin training was sure to be hell, and he’d have to come up with an awful good idea to get the others to forgive him for this. 

 

Deep in thought about this, Keith turned to go.  As he was stepping out the doorway of the hangars, into the halls of the castle, he heard Kolivan speak to himself. 

 

“I hate watching children fight our wars,” he murmured sadly.  Red purred quietly in response, apparently listening in.  Keith ducked his head, stepped out of the room, and let the door whoosh closed behind him.  He’d make up for this one, he decided.  He’d make them stop worrying. 

 

He was a paladin of Voltron, and there was no way they were walking away from this war without victory. 

 

That night, Keith approached Red, pillow in hand, Shiro’s jacket hugged around his shoulders.  She didn’t hesitate a moment before lowering down to allow him in, forgiveness pouring out of her as he stepped inside.  

 

He fell asleep in the pilot’s chair that night, and the following morning he found Antok asleep outside the door of the hangar, apparently standing guard.  It shouldn’t have been a surprise that with the castle so crowded, Keith had never felt safer.


End file.
